How do we plan our coastal communities in a changing climate?

Key insights from the webinar

1. Coastal planning must be based on landscape change

Planning for sea-level rise, erosion, flooding, and unstable ground conditions needs to be grounded more firmly in the landscape’s own processes and characteristics, rather than relying solely on technical solutions designed to control nature.

In Uddevalla, where flooding already occurs regularly, the municipality is working to integrate flood protection into urban development. Historical landscapes, water flows, and topography are used as a basis for understanding how the city can evolve alongside water rather than in opposition to it.

Read more about landslide prevention and climate adaptation along the Bäve River in Uddevalla (in swedish).

2. Visualizations and scenarios help us understand the future

How can complex climate issues be communicated effectively? Maps, scenarios, and visualizations can make future risks and consequences easier to understand for both decision-makers and the public.

In Uddevalla’s flood protection project, visualizations were used to demonstrate how different levels of protection could affect the urban environment. This provided a basis for discussing the implications of various solutions for public spaces and everyday life in the city.

Scenario-based approaches are also widely used in research and education, including through speculative design - a method that explores possible futures by creating and illustrating potential scenarios, environments, and everyday situations.

3. Collaboration requires a shared understanding of the problem

Climate adaptation and coastal planning are complex processes that require the involvement of many stakeholders, forms of knowledge, and perspectives. Collaboration is not only about working together; it is also about developing a common understanding of the challenges at hand.

When stakeholders operate from different perceptions of risks, goals, and conditions, it becomes difficult to identify appropriate solutions. For this reason, ongoing dialogue and shared working processes were highlighted as essential for building consensus.

Regional Coastal Collaboration Skåne/Halland was presented as an example of how municipalities, government agencies, regions, and researchers can work together on issues related to sea-level rise, erosion, and flood risk. This collaboration has led to shared knowledge bases, national dialogues, and new projects focused on nature-based climate adaptation measures.

Read more about regional coastal collaboration in Skåne/Halland (in swedish).

4. Future coastal planning needs to become more flexible

Today’s planning systems are largely based on quantifiable and systematically compiled knowledge and forecasts. However, climate change introduces greater uncertainty and increasingly variable projections and data.

Part of the solution may lie in adaptive planning, where strategies and solutions evolve in response to new knowledge and changing climate conditions. Concepts such as flexible land-use planning and scenario-based planning were highlighted as approaches that can provide greater room for action in the future.

At the same time, legislation and the current gap between strategic planning and later implementation stages were identified as significant challenges. Existing planning instruments and divisions of responsibility are not always suited to managing future uncertainties and gradual changes in coastal landscapes. There is also a need to organize overarching processes in ways that enable knowledge exchange and collaboration throughout the entire chain, from planning to implementation.

5. Climate adaptation is also about people’s relationship with place

Many people want to remain in and protect their local environments even as climate risks increase. To foster understanding and engagement, planning processes need to incorporate a wider range of perspectives. Art, literature, storytelling, and visualization can help make climate issues more tangible and accessible for local communities, stakeholders, and decision-makers.

A recurring theme throughout the discussion was that future coastal landscapes will inevitably change. Climate adaptation is therefore also about reconsidering our assumptions about what can realistically be preserved - and how we can live within a landscape that is continually evolving.

Participants

• Pär Persson, Water Strategist, County Administrative Board of Skåne
• Carola Wingren, Professor of Landscape Architecture, specializing in climate change, adaptation, and landscape identity at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)
• Åsa von Malortie, Landscape Architect specializing in strategic urban development and climate adaptation at Sydväst Arkitektur och Landskap

Moderator: Caroline Dahl, Senior Lecturer in Landscape Architecture at SLU